Apogee
by cassandrathevil
Summary: Any normal teenager in the midst of a sexual identity crisis is free to keep his thoughts to himself -- but Jacob Black is not normal, and the object of his affection is privy to his thoughts. JacobEdward slash, AU in which Bella comes to Forks later.
1. Why can't I get a break?

**Notes:** This is an alternate universe fic where Bella only visits Forks until after the shape shifting manifests in most of the Quileute pack. I fudged a bit with the timeline to make things work a little better for what I have in mind. This is **slash**, guys, so don't say I didn't warn you if this isn't what you want to read. I hope you enjoy!

-&-

_**apogee **__(n) – the point in the orbit of a heavenly body at which it is farthest from the earth._

Most of the time, the telepathic communication thing the pack has going can be really handy; for one thing, we'll never have to invest in cell phones to talk to each other. There's always at least one other person in their wolf form, so if a message needs to be spread everyone else knows fairly quickly. Of course, everyone also knows your deepest, most private, most _humiliating_ thoughts, especially if they're in the front of your mind; even if they're not, it's still possible to go snooping.

_Leah, will you give it a rest already?_ I thought, exasperated and past humiliation. I could feel her rummaging around in the back of my mind, pulling forward thoughts that everyone was definitely aware of and that I had tried to repress as well as I could. If Sam hadn't been there, I probably would have phased back to my human shape and walked away. Honestly, there's only so much I can take before I end up punching her in the gut. I wouldn't even feel bad because she's a girl, or anything; I know she can handle it.

Leah's laugh echoed in my head and her canine body shook with glee. _I would say I'm sorry, but honestly, Jacob, your dreams are just too hilarious._

_Well, I'm glad you think so, but I think we have more important things to discuss now!_ I turned to face Leah and I felt myself snarl, my upper lip curling over my teeth. She stepped up to the challenge, pawing at the ground and bringing herself to her full height. Leah was still no match for me in size, and she knew it, but what she lacked in bulk she made up for in gusto.

_Cut it out, you two,_ Sam told us tersely. _We don't have time for this._

I fell back into position, refusing to look at Leah and concentrating on Sam. Maybe if I thought of nothing but what he was saying, none of the others would think of the dreams Leah had drudged out of my mind. Even as I tried that I knew it was useless; all of the others were thinking of what had just been in my mind, and I could feel how ill at ease they were.

God, when can I ever get a break here?

Sam continued his train of thought. _Carlisle Cullen decided to inform me that one of the other bloodsuckers, the one who sees things yet to come, has seen a group of nomadic vampires heading in this direction. He said this prediction is very subjective and might not come to pass at all, but she saw them passing the boundary between Forks and La Push, the night of the new moon. We need to set up a guard for the next few nights to prepare, just in case, and on the actual night of the new moon we need to…_

As Sam went on, assigning us all a time and place to guard, I tried to block out the mentions of _Cullen_ and _bloodsucker_ from my mind. No doubt they would bring up bad thoughts, and Leah would just get a kick out of that.

As soon as Sam dismissed us, I ran through the trees in the general direction of my house and phased when I was just out of view of the others. I quickly pulled my clothes on – just a pair of shorts and sandals – and started walking through the woods, thankfully hearing only my own thoughts in my head.

When you get a glimpse into someone else's mind it makes you realize exactly what kind of a person they are, and sometimes what you hear isn't what you thought you would. I never imagined that Leah could be so hateful or so spiteful or that she would take so much pleasure in other's pain – but I could see evidence of that without even delving into her mind much at all. When you have unlimited access to someone's thoughts, and free reign to rifle through their feelings, you can do a lot of damage. Which is exactly why I hated phasing with the whole pack, now – my thoughts did a lot of damage to me.

I mean, it's not my fault if I had dreams about Edward Cullen. It's not as if I asked to dream about him sucking my cock on a periodic basis. That particular dream was, actually, quite satisfying, but I was not glad that everyone else was privy to it. Any other teenager in the midst of a sexual identity crisis was free to keep their thoughts to themselves, and I didn't think it was fair that everyone else in the pack could feel my confusion and see my humiliation firsthand.

Leah, being the spiteful bitch that she is, loved to bring attention to my latest wet dreams whenever she could. I know in her mind she felt a sort of perverse pleasure when she did this, but I could never tell if it was because she enjoyed to make me uncomfortable or if she just_ liked_ to watch my dreams in her mind. The line between the two possibilities was too blurred, but I wouldn't be surprised if she felt both. She may have enjoyed my humiliation, but I definitely didn't, and the rest of the pack didn't either.

Through the trees I could see house lights, in the distance; I sprinted faster, now that the house was in sight. As I neared the house I saw the familiar police cruiser parked in front of the garage – Charlie was visiting tonight.

I bounded through the front door, managing to make Charlie jump in surprise at my sudden appearance. I grinned down at him and he managed a weak, "Hello, Jacob," before his attention turned back to the football game on the TV. My dad turned and smiled in greeting; he was much more accustomed to my comings and goings.

"Pizza's on the kitchen counter," he informed me. "We left four slices. I hope that's enough."

"Aww, c'mon, Dad!" I whined, rubbing my belly. "I could easily eat a whole pie right now. Final exams are running me ragged." Well, other things were running me ragged, too. I wasn't lying about the pie, though…

I grabbed the pizza box and bounded back into the living room, plopping myself on the floor and shoving a slice in my mouth. As I chewed I watched the game – it wasn't actually that interesting, but it was better than nothing. There was a break in the game just after I finished eating my first slice, and a beer commercial came on.

I was about to start on my second slice when Dad said, "Hey, Jacob, Charlie was just telling me that his daughter is visiting in a couple weeks for vacation. Do you remember Isabella?"

I munched thoughtfully and tried to remember who my dad was talking about. "I think so. She hasn't been here in years, though, right?"

"That's right," Charlie said gruffly. "I'm happy to have her back, but I honestly have no idea what to do when it comes to her. Teenage girls..." He trailed off thoughtfully and rolled his eyes slightly; I definitely got his meaning.

"Girls are just as much as mystery to me as they are to you, Charlie," I said with a little laugh. Thankfully the game came back on, so I could focus on something mindless instead of how guys made me even more confused. I tried especially not to think of guys, and I tried especially not to think of Edward Cullen.

Needless to say, I think I failed pretty miserably at that point.

-&-

The agreement we had with the bloodsuckers was still new and tentative at that point in time. Of course there was the treaty that was already in place, but _working together_ was still a novelty. We had only really worked together once before, a couple months ago, when a group of three nomadic vampires threatened Forks and La Push. The one with tracking abilities – James, I think his name was – was particularly hard to get rid of, but in the end we did it. _We_ being the operative word here. Quil, Embry and I all reeked of vampire for days afterward because we had spent so much time in their presence.

It was around that time when the dreams started. I would wake every morning with sticky sheets and a wide grin until I remembered exactly _who_ had been starring in my dreams. Then the horror set in, but what was I more afraid of – the fact that I was dreaming about a guy, or the fact that I was dreaming about a vampire?

Of course the pack's reaction to my thoughts was not exactly the most supportive thing they could have done for me. Paul and Jared practically flipped their shit, Quil and Embry sat on the ground, staring in what can only be described as abject horror, and Leah…well, we all know what Leah thinks about my unfortunate crush. At least Sam did his best to ignore the crazy things that went on in my head.

Things would only get more awkward from this point on. A few days after this whole mess started, I had taken to isolating myself in my shed and tinkering with spare parts for hours at a time. I knew Dad knew something was wrong, and I could tell he was worried, but I wasn't about to tell him what was going on. He was debilitated enough, what with the wheelchair and all, and if I told him what was going on in my mind, he'd probably have a heart attack or something.

I had been finishing up work on an old VW Rabbit when I heard two people walk into my shed. I turned and saw Quil and Embry pause awkwardly in the doorway. Wow, this was going to be fun, wasn't it? I ducked my head, turning my attention back to the car, and said to my best friends, "Hey, guys. C'mon in."

"Hey, Jake," Quil said agreeably enough. He ducked under the top of the doorway and sat cross-legged on the floor a few feet away from me, a pile of tools and parts separating us. Embry followed and sat next to Quil.

"We were wondering if we could talk about…well, you know," Embry said uneasily. Of course I didn't need to ask what _well, you know_ really meant.

I sighed and set my tools down, turning to face my friends. "Sure, sure," I said, trying to control my embarrassment. "What do you want to, er, know?"

They shared a look, and I could tell they were arguing nonverbally over who should start interrogating me. Finally Quil turned back to me and said, exasperated, "Just…_why_?"

"I don't know!" I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. "Don't you think I ask myself that question all the time? I have no idea why!"

"But it's not like you imprinted on him or anything," Quil went on, gesturing wildly with his hands. "Can't you just stop?"

I rolled my eyes and shot him a murderous glance. "Don't tell me you've never had a crush on some girl and you couldn't keep your mind off of her."

Embry sighed and hit Quil on the shoulder. "That's not what we came here to say, doofus," he explained. "Look, Jake, we don't really care that he's a guy or anything, and the fact that he's a bloodsucker does kind of freak us out, but we've got your back, despite how this idiot is acting." He glared at Quil who shrugged sheepishly in turn.

I looked up and smiled weakly at them, trying to convey my gratitude. "Thanks, guys," I'd said. "C'mon, let's go inside and get some sodas, and then we can work on the Rabbit."

From then on things had been a little less awkward, since I knew I wasn't going to be shunned forever, but no easier to deal with. Of course things didn't get easier to deal with – nothing ever gets easier to handle in my life, and I had no idea that things would just get even more difficult.

-&-

_TBC._


	2. Just in case, my ass

-&-

I woke up the next day – thankfully a Friday – and dutifully attended the last day of school before summer break. School in La Push was a joke, especially for the pack. Our teachers might not be aware of our supernatural abilities, but they were aware of our connection with Sam. Besides, it wasn't like any of us needed to take school seriously or anything, because it's not possible for us to go to college. We have to protect our land and our tribe, no matter the personal cost.

And that was what I was doing, just as school let out – protecting La Push. I ambled to my post as the sun set over the tall trees. I only had to walk a couple miles down Highway 110 to get to the boundary line between La Push and Forks, and then all I had to do was step into the trees to find my post. I could observe the road and the forest from my spot in the trees, and unless someone was to look for me in the undergrowth, I was practically invisible.

I settled myself in a dry spot against a tree and started my watch, preparing myself for hours of boredom. I knew I needed to stay alert – _just in case_, the memory of Sam's voice echoed in my mind – but damn, just staring into the trees after a while gets pretty boring. Why did we need to set up a guard a whole week before the new moon? If that's when what's-her-face said the vampires were coming, then that's probably when they were coming. They might not even pose a problem to us at all; they could just pass us by and not hurt anyone.

Yeah, right. Since when was it ever that easy?

I sighed, standing from my comfortable spot on the ground to pace the woods. Just in case. Sam was never this cautious unless bloodsuckers were involved. I walked deeper into the woods, cursing Sam and his insane vigilance, when a scent not too far off in the distance burned my nose and down my throat.

I phased into my wolf form immediately, not even thinking about it; my first instinct, as it was whenever I was confronted with the scent of a vampire, was _killkillkill_. As I ran, I could hear the others in my mind, and my alarm practically sent them into frenzy, but I was too distracted to listen to their thoughts very carefully. I guess Sam was right about his whole constant vigilance thing.

I sprinted through the woods, blindly dodging trees and boulders and other obstructions, following my nose. I ran and ran until I ran right into the bloodsucker, lunging at him with my huge paws, pinning him to the ground.

He looked up, blinked, and smiled slightly. "Not bad," Edward Cullen said. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here."

I'd never before been so surprised that I phased before. Angry, sure – we all felt the wolf try to escape when we were upset. But surprise was a first. In the brief instant before I changed back to a human, I heard Leah laughing at me in my mind.

And then I found myself pinning Edward Cullen to the ground, my fingers digging into his icy shoulders and my face inches from his. And, of course, I was butt naked.

Can you believe my luck? I sure can't.

I scrambled off of him, faster than lightning, and pulled my shorts on as quickly as I possibly could. Thank God I could at least carry _those_ around. He stood as well, wiping the dirt off of his ridiculously expensive-looking clothes, and looked up to me again. "You didn't recognize my scent?" he asked, curiously, and I looked away before I started having thoughts I didn't want him to overhear.

"I wasn't thinking, I guess," I said in response, beating myself up inwardly. How could I _not_ recognize his scent? I guess from that far away it was a little easier to mistake, I guess, and in my human form, but I didn't even stop to think –

"Wait," I said, turning back to the vampire, and his golden eyes settled on mine. I kept my heart under control and thankfully my heartbeat didn't speed up – if it did, he would notice for sure. God, why can't I stop being such a girl? "What are you doing here in the first place?"

"I'm here for the same reason you are, I suppose," he replied. "We don't want the nomads to hurt anyone any less than you do."

"We can fend for ourselves, though," I said. Please just go away before I make a bigger ass of myself. "If they come onto our territory, we don't need your help."

"You might not," Edward agreed, "but we're here just in case."

I rolled my eyes at this familiar statement. Seeing this, Edward grinned and said, "I guess you're tired of hearing that from Sam, huh?"

"Yeah, I am – hey, get out of my head!" I exclaimed, horrified that he had been reading my thoughts.

"Don't worry. I'm blocking your thoughts," he said, leaning casually against an enormous tree trunk. In that pose, he looked like he could be modeling for the cover of a magazine. "Besides," he continued, flashing his teeth at me, "I don't think I particularly want to know what goes on in your head anyway, or do I?"

"Wow, fuck off," I said, not as vehemently as I should have. So there was still a possibility he didn't know that I had a raging man crush on him, a thought that comforted me. However, things were still bound to be awkward, especially with that rough start we had.

I searched around for a dry spot on the ground, which was a lot harder now that the sunlight was mostly gone, and sat down cross-legged. Edward sat as well, facing me from a few feet away, but he didn't pat the ground to see if it was dry first. Hell, even if he had a huge water spot on his ass, he'd look amazing; what did it matter if the ground was dry or not?

"I still don't understand why you're here," I told him conversationally. I didn't even have to attempt to keep my tone neutral – I guess my crush leaked the acidity out of my voice. God, I hoped he wasn't listening to my thoughts. "I'm pretty sure we don't need to set up a guard anyway, and since your future-telling friend can predict what's going to happen I think we're pretty much set, huh?"

"When you werewolves decide to get involved, Alice's vision stops working," he explained. I could tell he was trying to be nice, as well. I heard just the barest hint of sharpness when he said _werewolves_. Well, at least he was trying. "We kept off telling you about the nomads as long as we could, so Alice could keep tabs on all possible futures, but it's just too dangerous. They practically had a killing spree in Seattle last week, and they'll be just as thirsty whenever they get here."

"So let me get this straight. Alice can't see _anything_ now that we're involved in this? Nothing at all? So we're basically going at this completely blind?"

"Not completely," Edward corrected. "Once they get in close enough range, I'll be able to hear their thoughts, and of course we'll be able to smell them. Well, maybe not you, if you can't recognize the good guys, here."

I shot him my best I-hate-you glare – which I had previously perfected on Leah – and didn't respond. He didn't push the conversation, either, and as the light of day disappeared we were simultaneously plunged into darkness and silence.

_Awkward._

As I brooded in silence, I wondered how I would ever be able to get myself out of this mess. It was only a silly little crush, right? Surely it would fade into nothing, with time, especially since nothing would ever come of it. The problem was that I didn't _have_ the time for something like that to happen. I didn't know how much longer I could deal with the dreams and the taunting and the stupid, stupid thoughts banging around in my head all the time.

And _he_ wasn't making it any better, sitting there on the ground, only a few feet away. He was just sitting there, as still as a statue, staring at the ground. It was almost eerie, how unmoving he was, because his chest never rose with the intake of air. I watched his stillness for an immeasurable amount of time, until it was too dark to see clearly.

I wondered what he could possibly be thinking about – sitting in the forest, at night, with one of his least favorite kinds of people. As my thoughts wandered, I reminded myself of the bloodsucker's power – was Edward reading my mind?

His head twitched slightly and he blinked. For fuck's sake, he was, wasn't he? Was saying his name in my mind like calling his name out to get his attention or something?

I huffed out a silent breath, sighing at my own stupidity. I had a job to do, didn't I? I was supposed to be patrolling, and all I was doing was sitting on the ground and staring at a vampire, not even using my dulled human senses to detect what was in the forest around me; instead I was just brooding. If I had a job to do, I was at least going to do it right, instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I do enough of that at home, anyway.

I stood abruptly and Edward's head turned in my direction in a split second, his eyebrows raised questioningly. "I'm going to phase," I grunted, turning on my heels and running into the forest. Once I was out of his direct line of sight, I shucked my pants off and transformed.

I no longer had to think about gaining my bearings in my wolf form – everything felt natural, from the enhanced vision to the sharper scent of the forest to the use of all four limbs to walk. Even the whole mind reading thing didn't catch me off guard so much anymore. Before, I had to make room in my head for everyone else to fit, in a sense, but now there was a permanent space in my mind, just for the pack, and I could only access it as a wolf.

But honestly, I could have done without Leah in that part of my head.

_Oh, Jacob,_ she taunted, just as soon as I'd phased. _So good of you to join us. How are things going with your loverboy?_

I ignored her as well as I could, letting my thoughts come to the surface of my mind. _Has there been anything?_

_Aside from your little scare, no,_ Leah replied, sounding lazy even in her thoughts. _But that didn't turn out to be a bad thing, did it?_

_Leah,_ Jacob heard Quil interrupt, sounding exasperated. _If you don't shut up, we're all going to think you have a thing for Jacob. Cut the crap._

We all knew she didn't, though; she still had a _thing_ for Sam, and we all thought of that at the same moment. I heard a low growling in my head as all of her bitterness and anger welled up, but I phased back before I could hear her practically explode. I wasn't really in the mood for an episode of our little werewolf soap opera at that point in time.

I pulled on my shorts and walked through the trees to where Edward was still sitting. I played around with my hair, pushing it out of my face so I wouldn't have to look at him immediately, but when I did turn toward him, I knew something finally went horribly wrong.

"What?" I demanded. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

I took one more look at his shocked, bewildered, beautiful face and I knew the answer to my own question. Honestly, I was surprised I lasted so long in his presence without him realizing immediately, if this was the reaction I got. Obviously he kept his word, to keep out of my head, at least for part of the night. But somehow he must have slipped, because I could tell by his face that he _knew_.

So I turned and ran. Perhaps not the bravest thing I've ever done, but it was the only thing I could stomach doing. I certainly couldn't stay there, not with him looking at me like that. Fuck, I was pathetic – I could rip out a vampire's throat with my teeth, tear the rest of its body limb from limb until it didn't even resemble anything slightly human, but I couldn't stare one in the face if I thought it was hot?

I didn't go home, because I couldn't shirk the duty Sam had given me. No, instead I just ran and ran until my bloodied feet couldn't carry me any farther. I camped out there, in that one spot the whole night, watching intently for a danger I knew would not be there (just in case), if only to keep my mind off of _him_.

-&-

_TBC._

**Notes:** Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews, favorites, and story alerts! Nothing makes me happier than seeing that people like what I write. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. More soon!


	3. Crisis

**Notes:** Um. I'm sorry this took six months to write. I know you're all probably asking, _how hard is it to write 2500 measly words?_ But real life intervened, I guess. Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and hopefully there will be more soon.

-&-

For once, the sun was shining over Washington. The sunlight that filtered through my bedroom curtains was a rare but welcome occurrence.

Unfortunately, it displayed the wet stain on my bed sheets pretty damn well.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath, staring at the mess in dismay. I pulled down the shades over my windows and closed the curtains, but I could still see the offending stain as clear as anything. I balled my sheets up into a wad, throwing them roughly into the hamper. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

You know, it's one thing to have sex dreams. Everyone has them, once in a while, even to the mind-blowing caliber that I'm used to. But I highly doubt any one else has them _every night_, about a guy they're supposed to hate, and I really doubt they cream their sheets every single time, either.

Was I supposed to take this as some sort of sign, or something? Because seriously, I got the message loud and clear.

I threw a couple of shirts in the hamper, on top of my sheets, so it would look less odd to Dad, if he saw anything. Not that he would really say anything, but I'd rather avoid him realizing just how often I have to wash my stupid sheets.

I grabbed the hamper in one hand and opened the door with the other, but it collided with something in the hallway with a loud bang. "Fuck!" I shouted, probably not for the last time, and flicked the switch on for the hallway light.

"Sorry," Dad said apologetically. "This stupid chair always gets in the way. I was just bringing my things to the laundry room. Do you want me to bring yours?" he asked, noticing my hamper.

"No, no, it's all right," I said hastily. "Here, I'll take yours down with mine. Go…make breakfast, or something."

I carefully tiptoed around the wheelchair and barreled the rest of the way down the hallway, dumping the contents of the hamper in the washing machine. Potential crisis averted, at least for now.

Of course, crises practically follow me around, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. I can't avoid them all the time, can I?

-&-

Quil came over soon after I finished breakfast. He noted my lack of bedclothes and raised his eyebrows at me. "Didn't you just wash your sheets like, two days ago?"

"Yes. And? Maybe I'm a closet clean-freak," I said defensively.

He laughed and laughed. "Yeah, you're in the closet for a lot of things, aren't you?"

I groaned and plopped on my mattress, hiding my face in my heads. "Shut up, shut up," I said miserably. "That's not my fault. It's not my fault I have a…dream problem."

"Oh." Quil looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is that what it is, why you're washing your sheets so often?"

"No shit," I replied, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Why don't you just…nip it in the bud before you go to bed?"

My eyebrows knit together. "What?"

"You know." Quil made an up-and-down motion with his half-closed fist and waggled his eyebrows.

"Quil!" I shoved him off the mattress with my foot and he laughed hysterically as he thudded to the floor. "Dude, isn't the point _not_ to get anything on my sheets?"

"Do it in the bathroom or something!"

He was still laughing. I kicked him in the head for good measure, but he didn't really stop.

Over his laughter I heard the sound of an engine in the driveway. I peeked out between the curtains and saw Charlie's familiar police cruiser.

"It's Charlie," I said to Quil as I sat back down. "Hmm. I wonder what he's doing here."

"Wait, who's that?" Quil asked, opening the window and peeking out the screen. "Since when was Charlie a girl?"

"The fuck, man, that's his daughter," I said after I shoved him out of the way. "Come on, let's go see."

"She's pretty hot," Quil said thoughtfully as we bounded through the hallway and out the front door. Billy had already wheeled himself out and was waiting on the edge of the smooth blacktop.

"You haven't got a snowball's chance in hell," I muttered to him under my breath, and he elbowed me hard in the ribs. I stepped back on his toes and he yelped, but we quieted down when Billy cleared his throat.

"Hey Charlie," I said, and to the girl standing next to him, I said, "Bella, right? We used to make mud pies when we were little."

"I remember," she said wryly.

"This is Quil," I said, introducing my friend at the last minute. She smiled at him and fell back behind her father, who began negotiating with mine for the red pickup that had been gathering dust in our garage.

"What do you think, Jake?" Dad asked me. "Do you think you could fix her up anytime soon?"

"That thing? Sure," I said with confidence. "I just need to fix the engine, and maybe get rid of a few dents in the body of the car. It might take a few hours, though," I pointed out.

"That's fine," Charlie said gruffly. "Whatever you can do."

"I really appreciate it, but you don't have to go to all this hard work for me," Bella said quietly. "As long as you make sure it runs for a couple of months..."

"I'll tell you what," I said, watching as Charlie wheeled Dad over to a few feet to have a separate conversation. "Why don't you help fix the pickup today? That way you won't feel so bad."

Bella snorted and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "I don't think that's such a good idea," she said drily. "Tools and the uncoordinated don't exactly get along."

"You could just hang out with Quil and I, then?" I asked, looking over at Quil for confirmation, but he shook his head briefly.

"Embry and I were going to go swimming, since it's so nice for once," said Quil. "I should probably be going now. I only came over to…"

To see how I was after the debacle of the night before. It was a nice gesture, but I was fine, really. I could handle extremely humiliating situations just as well as anyone else really. I shot him a quick smile, to reassure him or something, but it didn't look like he bought it.

"All right," I said, trying to change the course of the conversation as quickly as possible. "Well, you can just hang with me while I fix the car?" I turned back to Bella, a hopeful expression on my face. She bit her lip as she looked over my shoulder to Charlie, but she looked back to me and nodded. I guess I was preferable company to Charlie, even though she barely knew or remembered me.

"It looks like Charlie wants to catch up with your dad," she pointed out, "so that would make sense."

I grinned, motioning to my shed off in the distance. "Let's get started." God, anything to get my mind off of the night before.

-&-

"Oh God," Bella said with a laugh. "This is such a disaster. Take all the tools away from me. I need to go sit down now. Like I said, I am too uncoordinated for this kind of stuff."

"No worries," I said, grinning as she sat down gingerly in the chair a few feet away. "I'm almost done. I wouldn't have let you tinker with this thing if I knew I couldn't have fixed it anyway, don't worry."

Just a few minutes later I heard a crash from behind me. I turned around to see Bella standing sheepishly over the fallen chair. "It started raining on me," she said, indicating to the open window just behind where she had been sitting. "The wind blew it in on me and it just…surprised me."

I snorted at her as she righted the chair. "Well, you can sit in your nice comfy car now. It's all done. Speaking of windows, though – they're hard to crank in the car, so I just left them open for now. It shouldn't be too bad driving home."

"Awesome! Thank you," she said, smiling up at me. "I'll go tell Charlie. He'll probably try and quiz me on proper driving techniques, though, especially in this weather. Man, it was so nice a few hours ago, too." I tried not to take the sudden rainstorm as an omen, but it was kind of hard to ignore.

"That certainly does sound like Charlie," I replied as I cracked open the door to the shed. "Come on, drive this thing down to the driveway." I threw her the keys and climbed in the passenger side. Bella started the ignition and turned to grin at me as it growled to life.

She drove slowly and carefully the few feet to the driveway, probably because she noticed Charlie watching from inside the house. She parked as close as she could to the door, and we sprinted inside the house to avoid getting soaked.

"The car's all ready if you want to take a look at it," I announced once we were inside. As Charlie made a motion to stand, I glanced at the clock behind him on the wall. Half past seven.

"Fuck," I said under my breath. I walked past Charlie as he followed Bella back out to the driveway and said to Dad, "I really have to go, but I need to wait until they leave, I guess."

"Hmm," he said, wheeling over to the glass door, staring out at the cloudy sky. "Are you sure you have to go tonight? You did yesterday."

"I'm positive," I said, kicking my shoes and socks off before hastily pulling my shirt off, leaving only my shorts, which I would dispose of outside. "Fuck, are they leaving anytime soon?"

"It looks like they're going now," Dad said, peering out the door. "Yeah, they're waving from their respective cars." I peered out the glass as well and waved back to Bella.

When I turned to Dad, he noted the smile on my face and grinned at me. "You and Bella sure did get along well," he said, the hint of something I didn't want to hear in his voice.

"Dad, I get along well with everyone," I pointed out. "Look, I'll talk to you later. Bye!" I ran hastily out of the door as soon as the cars disappeared from sight down the road, and sprinted across the field into the trees, ripping off my shorts and transforming mid-stride.

_Jacob, you're late_, was the first thing I heard as I ran through the woods as a wolf.

_I'm sorry, I lost track of time,_ I thought, and unwittingly images of Bella ran through my mind.

_Leah's late too, otherwise she'd probably have something to say about that,_ Paul thought snidely.

_Ugh, fuck off._

I reached my destination in record time, and changed back into my human form, tugging my shorts back on, before walking through the final stretch of trees.

He was already there, standing under a tree with his back to me, but I was positive he knew I was there. I slowed to a stop, a number of feet behind him, and leaned against a tree trunk. He didn't turn.

The only things that shattered the silence were the occasional gust of wind and the rain falling on our heads. Once or twice, a car drove by on the highway, and we watched it drive away from our hiding spot in the trees.

I exhaled sharply, crossing my arms over my chest. This wasn't weird. Not at _all_.

"Look," I started, and he turned, like a snake uncoiling after a long day in the cold. His movements were slow and punctuated, and once he was facing me he held himself as still as a statue.

Absolutely breathtaking.

"Look," I repeated, less sure of myself. "This doesn't have to be weird. We can't just stand here in silence. I mean…" I pushed the hair back from my face out of frustration; it was dripping wet but I hadn't seemed to notice. "I mean, if you try not to read my mind I'll try not to be an idiot, all right?"

The seconds ticked by and all I could hear was the soft staccato of the rain. I let out a breath, taking his silence as the only answer I would ever get, until I noticed an almost imperceptible smile on Edward's face.

"That might be hard," he finally said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"You, trying not to be an idiot," he replied, letting a grin split across his face. "I wouldn't want you to strain yourself."

"Mother_fucker_!" I pushed my feet deep into the mud and kicked as hard as I could in his direction, laughing in triumph as it stained his clothes. All he did was smirk as if a bit of mud didn't bother him, but I saw his fingers itch at the cuffs of his sleeves, brushing the dirt away. Victory.

"So what did you do today?" he asked without missing a beat.

"Nothing much," I shouted over a sudden gust of wind. "I fixed up a car," I continued, and by some bizarre chance of fate the truck I had tuned up just a few hours earlier turned the corner on the highway, making itself known with a guttural roar of the engine.

The wind picked up again, whipping my hair haphazardly in the air, making it difficult to see. I flattened it back just in time to see Edward stiffen, and whip himself around to face the highway.

Not too far off in the distance, I could see Bella's hair flapping in the wind, escaping through the window that refused to shut. There was a final gust of wind, and then the car went out of view, the sound of the engine becoming fainter.

There was a single moment when Edward held himself taut, like a string; his spine impossibly straight and his head tilted back. He inhaled deeply, opening his mouth to drink in the air.

It was a good thing I reacted so quickly, because when he set himself to run after the truck, I slammed into him with all the force I had in my body.


End file.
